Barry Conn (NSW) & Kipiro Damas (LAE).
Guide to trees of Papua New Guinea
Copyright held by the authors, National Herbarium of New South Wales, and Papua New Guinea National Herbarium

Sloanea forbesii F.Muell.

Victorian Naturalist Vol. 9: 111 (1892)

Other Literature: F. von Mueller, Journal of Botany 323 (1893)

Family: Elaeocarpaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Non-timber species

Field Characters: Small sub-canopy tree (up to 20 m high); Bole cylindrical (up to c. 25 cm diam.); straight (bole up to c. 6 m long); buttresses buttresses present (often buttresses up to c. 1 m high, rarely to 3 m) or buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark grey or brown, slightly rough or smooth, pustular, lenticels elongated vertically; less than 25 mm thick; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze red or brown, markings absent; inner blaze red or brown, markings absent; bark exudate (sap) absent; terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.

Indumentum: Complex hairs absent; stinging hairs absent; mature twig indumentum (hairs) present when young or absent, hairs sparse.

Leaves: Leaves spaced along branches, spiral (leaves occurring singly at a node and arranged spirally up the branchlet), simple (a leaf composed of a single blade); petiole present, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen or slightly swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle, 16.0-23.0 cm, 10.0-13.0 cm; symmetric, entire or slightly crenate, not dissected or lobed, obtuse or sub acuminate, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface green, upper surface dark green (glossy), indumentum (hairs) present, indumentum (hairs) dense or sparse (hairs minute, red-brown); absent; domatia present, scattered along midrib (hairy); stipules present, free, laterally placed, not encircling the twig, leafy, not fringed, small (c. 4 mm long), not persistent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers on a branched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 18.0-20.0 mm long, diameter large (more than10 mm diam.) (10-15 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth greenish yellow; 4-6, free; stamens 50 (c.), present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 4; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on branched axis, fruit 70.0-120.0 (-150.0) mm long, brown, not spiny, non-fleshy, simple, dehiscent, capsule; seeds 16-(seeds 3-6 per locule)-26, about 10 mm long (10-12 mm long), not winged, narrow (longer than wide), seed 1-10 mm diam. (6-7 mm long).

Distribution: West Sepik, East Sepik, Madang, Morobe, Western Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Southern Highlands, Western, Central, Milne Bay & New Britain.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details